Pouched rats are a group of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are n ...

s in the subfamily Cricetomyinae. They are members of the family

Nesomyidae The Nesomyidae are a family of African rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. It includes several subfamilies, all of which are native to either continental Africa or to Madagascar. Included in this family are Malagasy rodents, ...

, which contains other African muroids such as climbing mice, Malagasy mice, and the

white-tailed rat The white-tailed rat (''Mystromys albicaudatus'') also known as the white-tailed mouse, is the only member of the subfamily Mystromyinae in the family Nesomyidae. This species is sometimes placed in the subfamily Cricetinae due to similarities ...

. All nesomyids are in the superfamily

Muroidea The Muroidea are a large superfamily of rodents, including mice, rats, voles, hamsters, lemmings, gerbils, and many other relatives. Although the Muroidea originated in Eurasia, they occupy a vast variety of habitats on every continent excep ...

, a large and complex clade containing of all mammal

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

. Sometimes the pouched rats are placed in the family Muridae along with all other members of the superfamily

. Pouched rats are found throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa with the exception of southern Africa. They are characterized by having large

cheek pouch Cheek pouches are pockets on both sides of the head of some mammals between the jaw and the cheek. They can be found on mammals including the platypus, some rodents, and most monkeys, as well as the marsupial koala. The cheek pouches of chipmunks ...

es and a distinctive molar

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines * Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts * Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...

. The molars are very similar to the type seen in the subfamily

Murinae The Old World rats and mice, part of the subfamily Murinae in the family Muridae, comprise at least 519 species. Members of this subfamily are called murines. In terms of species richness, this subfamily is larger than all mammal families excep ...

, but pouched rats probably evolved this similarity through

convergent evolution Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last com ...

. There are three very different genera of pouched rats. The giant pouched rat is notable for being the largest of the muroids. A giant pouched rat was also implicated as a carrier in a small outbreak of

monkeypox Monkeypox (also called mpox by the WHO) is an infectious viral disease that can occur in humans and some other animals. Symptoms include fever, swollen lymph nodes, and a rash that forms blisters and then crusts over. The time from exposure t ...

in the US. The three genera of Cricetomyinaeds contain eight species.

Classification

Subfamily Cricetomyinae - pouched rats *Genus ''

Beamys ''Beamys'' is a genus of rodent in the family Nesomyidae. It contains the following species: * Lesser hamster-rat (''Beamys hindei'') * Greater hamster-rat The greater hamster-rat, greater long-tailed pouched rat, or long-tailed pouched rat ( ...

'' **

Lesser hamster-rat The lesser hamster-rat or long-tailed pouched rat (''Beamys hindei'') is a species of rodent in the family Nesomyidae. It is found in Kenya and Tanzania. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland coastal forests. It is threaten ...

, ''Beamys hindei'' **

Greater hamster-rat The greater hamster-rat, greater long-tailed pouched rat, or long-tailed pouched rat (''Beamys major'') is a species of rodent in the family Nesomyidae. It is found in Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropica ...

, ''Beamys major'' *Genus '' Cricetomys'' - giant pouched rats **

Southern giant pouched rat The southern giant pouched rat (''Cricetomys ansorgei'') is a species of rodent in the family Nesomyidae. It is distributed in the savannah of East and Southern Africa. Synonyms A large number of synonyms have been noted for this species. They i ...

, ''Cricetomys ansorgei'' **

Gambian pouched rat The Gambian pouched rat (''Cricetomys gambianus''), also commonly known as the African giant pouched rat, is a species of nocturnal pouched rat of the giant pouched rat genus ''Cricetomys'', in the family Nesomyidae. It is among the largest m ...

, ''Cricetomys gambianus'' **

Emin's pouched rat Emin's pouched rat ''(Cricetomys emini)'', also known as the African pouched rat, is a large rat of the muroid superfamily. It is related to ''Cricetomys gambianus'', the Gambian pouched rat. Both species belong to '' Cricetomys'', the genus of ...

, ''Cricetomys emini'' ** Kivu giant pouched rat, ''Cricetomys kivuensis'' *Genus ''

Saccostomus ''Saccostomus'' is a genus of rodent in the family Nesomyidae. It contains the following species: * South African pouched mouse The South African pouched mouse or southern African pouched mouse (''Saccostomus campestris'') is a species of rod ...

'' - pouched mice ** South African pouched mouse, ''Saccostomus campestris'' ** Mearns's pouched mouse, ''Saccostomus mearnsi

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pouched Rat Nesomyid rodents